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The Perfect Shot: Northern Lights

Our in-house photographers are always searching for the
perfect shot. Icelandic phenomena and weather conditions can be quite different
from your normal photography session so we’ve created a series of super short
tutorials for avid photographers traveling to Iceland.

Professional photographer and aurora borealis hunter Óli
Haukur, aka OZZO, gives us a few essential tips to keep in mind when capturing
the northern lights.

Timing

This is obviously going to be your most important issue. The northern lights are a natural phenomenon that occurs all year round but is only visible in the dark and clear skies. This means that Iceland’s near 24-hour daylight in summer won’t get you very far for that perfect aurora borealis shot. Time your trip somewhere between September and early April and get familiar with the Icelandic Met Office’s Aurora Forecast to stay up to speed on visibility and aurora predictions.

Photo by OZZO

Aperture

You’re essentially trying to capture a moving ray of light in the pitch-black night sky so keep your aperture large, somewhere in the range of F1,4 – F2,8, or as low as possible.

Photo by OZZO

Shutter Speed

You are shooting long exposure and the lights are moving, so try to keep the shutter speed as fast as possible so the lights don’t get blurry. Somewhere in the range of 5-10” seconds is optimal.

Photo by OZZO

ISO

We want to be as light sensitive as possible for the northern lights so we set our ISO very high, 1600-6400 is optimal.

Photo by OZZO

Remember to dress well, because standing outside on a dark
winter’s night in Iceland can be both a magical and a very cold experience.
Mittens and a warm beverage are always a good idea and getting out of the light-polluted
city is a must.